Socially Networked Classroom - discussion post

I guess I forgot to post my discussion response from Vista over to my blog, so here it is:


The Socially Networked Classroom – William Kist

1. 21st century school library - My list:

• Students are given choices about the kinds of books they read – developing an enjoyment for pleasure reading

• Libraries provide access to different types of information – print, audio, visual, multimedia to address the needs of different learning styles of students

• Teachers and Teacher Librarians collaborate on a regular basis to effectively teach literacy development.

• Teacher Librarians model information retrieval by demonstrating the Reference Process – “1) a need for information; 2) a question; 3) the search for information; 4) an answer or response; and 5) an evaluation” (Riedling, 2005, 5). 

• The school library is central to the learning environment of the school. The school and community need to have open access to resources that are available

• School libraries, in order to function effectively in the 21st century, need to be current, and have the ability to stay fluid with changing technology

2. Games in schools: 

Absolutely! Games are fun, and when the right games are selected, they are educational, and in some ways, can teach some concepts better than I can teach them! I think of a classic game like chess – our daughters were taught to play this at a very young age, and the depth of problem solving, planning, communicating strategies and many other skills were learned in a fun way. I watched students play chess at lunch one time, and there is something fascinating about watching children play this game! Fast forward to some of the online games mentioned by Kist (P.110) – these games also teach many of these same skills, and also include solving math problems, require reading skills, processing skills, and often provide tidbits of information about interesting topics. The interactive/competitive component of games, the desire to beat a level, or progress in the game, pushes children to problem-solve to figure it out – great life skills to develop. 

One site that I was introduced to awhile ago by my youngest daughter (12) is edheads.org. I had the opportunity to perform a virtual knee surgery, and learned some interesting things about my knees – something I rely on every day! If I were to sit down and read this in a textbook, or listen to a lecture about it, it certainly wouldn’t have captured my attention the same way!

3. Our classrooms:

A point by Kist that has stuck with me was his comment that “we need to transform the way we do school because the digitalization of information and automation of jobs has transformed the way we socialize and work” (Kist, 2010, ix). If we want our students to be prepared for the workforce, and become responsible citizens – which is an ultimate reason for getting an education, then we need to design our instruction to fit what children will face when they step outside the doors of the school. If we cannot do this, then students will not see the value of school, and look elsewhere. The popularity of online learning is dramatically increasing, and students are finding different, more technological ways to learn.